PEH1
The first film of the PEH series, which introduced the basic concept and many of the characters who would remain until the end of the series. This short story centers on the first adventure of Miles Spectre in the world of video games. Plot Synopsis The story begins with Miles Spectre, a nervous and clumsy young man who is often picked on by his roommate, Elias Locke. While heading to the laundromat to do he and Eli's laundry, Miles meets a young woman named Sally Rouge who is trying to get a large box up to a nearby apartment. Miles offers to help, but is intercepted by his old high school bully, a man by the name of Julian Dimitri. Julian pushes Miles aside and takes the box single-handedly up to the apartment. Miles watches Sally and Julian leave from his spot on the wet pavement, until he is mocked by a little girl. He storms back up to his apartment and sits down to cool off with a game of Super Mario. Miles is then unexpected pulled into the video game world, where he becomes Super Mario. He meets another young woman named Julie Lien, who has taken on the form of Toad and she teaches him how to use his Mario powers to defeat the evil King Bowser (personified by Julian) and rescue the beautiful Princess Peach (personified by Sally). Miles defeats Bowser, but is helpless to stop Bowser's henchmen the Koopa Troopa (personified by the taunting little girl) from running off with the Princess. Miles chases after them, leaping into a warp pipe. Unbeknownst to Miles at the time, his roommate Elias was playing video games in their apartment, unaware that Miles was inside. It was at this time, that he stopped playing Mario and began playing Sonic Heroes, causing Miles to transform from Super Mario to Sonic the Hedgehog, as he moved on to the Green Hill Zone. Here, Miles receives more guidance from Julie, this time in the form of Tikal the Echidna. With her help, Miles is able to not only stop Julian again (this time in the form of Dr. Ivo Robotnik) but he is also able to defeat his own doubts and insecurities, which have taken on a life of their own in the form of Shadow the Hedgehog. Miles follows Sally (in the form of Amy Rose) through a warp ring, just as Elias once again changes games. Miles finds himself now in Gannon's Tower, this time in the form of Link from the Legend of Zelda. He is confronted by Julie, who appears as the Great Fairy. With her help, Miles defeats Julian (as Ganondorf) one last time and finally reaches Sally (in the form of Princess Zelda). Joining their tri-forces together, they are able to return Miles to Earth, much to the surprise of Elias. Full of newfound courage, Miles marches out of the apartment, while Elias quickly throws in a DoA: Beach Volleyball game. Miles bumps into Julie on the street, who tells him which apartment Sally is in. Miles runs up the stairs and bursts into the apartment, knocking Julian unconscious with the door and saving Sally from his pompous self-admiration. Sally rewards Miles' bravery with a kiss and the two go out on a date together, much Julie's content. Meanwhile, Elias had the best day of his life, with Kasumi, Kokoro, & Hitomi on the beaches of Zack Island. Production Notes Credits STARRING: *Mark Tyler as MILES (Sonic, Mario, Link, Shadow) *Mike Santanella as JULIAN (Robotnik, Bowser, Ganondorf) *Nicole Berlingeri as SALLY (Amy Rose, Peach, Zelda) *Amber Walsh as JULIE (Tikal, Toad, Great Fairy) Co-STARRING: *Johnny Jacapraro as ELIAS *Alicia Sautner as LITTLE GIRL (Koopa Troopa) *Jennifer Baker as KASUMI *Nicole Enfante as KOKORO *Becky Richardson as HITOMI CREW: *Written & Directed by Mark Walsh *NYFA Production Team: :*Mark Walsh, Bryan Landes, Matt Fels, Oliver Lewis, Insuh Yoon (as Eugene Yoon), Mac Russell *Cinematography: :*Bryan Landes (Link & NYC scenes) :*Matt Fels (Sonic & Link scenes) :*Oliver Lewis (Mario scenes) *Edited by Mark Walsh *Boom & Stunts: Mac Russell & Insuh Yoon (as Eugene Yoon) *Midi Conversions by Charlie Beatty Background PEH was the final film project of Mark Walsh at the end of his tenure at the New York Film Academy. The script was written in two days and was intentionally very straightforward and basic. The initial meeting of Miles and Sally was based on a run-in Walsh had with a neighbor who he helped to carry a large package. While there was no "Julian" in this version of the story, there was an interesting situation with a high-flying feline. Pre-production (costumes, scheduling, etc) and production (actual shooting) were only a combined total of two weeks in length. The film was edited in one (very long) day and screened in May of 2005 at the NYFA campus in Union Square, NY. The movie would not be uploaded to Youtube until years later, just before the release of PEH2. The film has many inconsistencies with the later two. This is a result of the rushed and very basic script being retroactively expanded on to encompass more characters and a longer running time. Many of these inconsistencies have been or can be explained away with small amounts of retconning. Some of these inconsistencies are: *Whether or not the host of the Mario character grows a mustache. *Whether or not Miles grows head spikes when he takes on the form of Sonic or Shadow. *The color of Link's under armor. *The layout and coloring scheme of Eli's Apartment. :*This was altered due to a new shooting location closer to where most of the actors lived. *The actual residence of Sally Rouge. :*She was retroactively said to be visiting Julie (not living next to Miles) in the 2nd film, as a way to write out the character, after the actor moved down south. *The coloring scheme of Super Sonic. :*The rainbow lights of the first film were a result of overzealousness at newly discovering blue screen matte techniques. Later appearances more closely resemble the original character design. *The costume coloring of Fire Mario. :*This was a result of budgetary issues with the first two films, that was remedied in the 3rd. *The reason Miles is pulled into the game. :*No reason is given in PEH1 but explanations for the subsequent visits in later films can lead one to assume a similar circumstance. *The consciousness of people pulled into the games. :*Sally and Julian seem to have no memory of their adventures in the game world (as referenced by Sally in her PEH2 cameo). :*Miles and Elias are both well aware of the events. :*Julie may or may not have some knowledge of it as well (based on her devilish smile at the end of the first film). :*Whether or not the little girl remembers anything is completely unknown. At the original screening, crew member Insuh Yoon (in)famously said: "Now you need to make two more. Every good series has to be a trilogy." This inadvertently lead director Mark Walsh to begin work on the rest of the series and Insuh has later said that this was a joke and he in fact had no desire for a trilogy.